Saint Paul of the Cross

Devotion to Our Blessed Mother Mary
Today is the feast day of Saint Paul of the Cross. The Passion of Jesus was a the source and center of devotion in the life of St Paul of the Cross. The only devotion that could equal the devotion he had to the Passion was the tender devotion that he had towards our Blessed Lady. He began everything with her blessing. Nearly all his greatest favors were received on her feasts, and he was blessed with many beautiful visions of her glory. The part of her life that had the greatest attraction for him was her sufferings at the foot of the Cross.

Paul knew that his devotion to the Passion of Jesus would not be complete without its counterpart: devotion to the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. His thoughts nearly always brought him to Mount Calvary; and who can ascend this mountain of bitterness without giving a thought to Her who stands transfixed with grief at the foot of the Cross? At times he would say, "Whoever goes to our crucified Lord will find His Mother with Him...where the Son is, there is the Mother." And in explaining the words of Jeremiah, "Great as the sea is thy sorrow."

He used to say:
"The sorrow of Mary is like the Mediterranean Sea, from which one passes into the boundless ocean of the Passion of our Lord."

He would often add:
"The soul can always become rich by fishing for the pearls of the virtues of Jesus and Mary."